Donnie Brixton
Corporal Donald "Donnie" J. Brixton is a WWII American G.I. and protagonist introduced in the prequel novella The Night Children. Appearance Not much description is given about Donnie's appearance, either than the fact he is the oldest of his squad at 23 years old and wears his infantry uniform. Personality Donnie is a very rational thinker, and as his position as the leader of the squad, his men turn to him for decisions on where to move forward with their plans. He is scared of war, and the capability of humanity's violence after personally experiencing it firsthand. He is secretly ashamed of his fears, as he he uses it to rationalise his cowardice at times. He has a strong sense of loyalty and puts his complete faith into his men and into Joan, whom he trusts quickly. Main Story Back Story Donnie grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. He has a next-door neighbour named Betty whom he was childhood friends with, though they never became an item she agreed to pose as his sweetheart for a photo that he can bring into the war with him. The Night Children To see this text, click the "Expand" link on the right Donnie Brixton, alongside with his men Eddie Argento, Mike Levy, and Henry Grady search for Sergeant Cudden and his men who have seemingly vanished in the forest two days earlier. Cudden's original mission had been to ambush a small German logging village before they all disappeared. Donnie was apart of the eight men who stayed behind when Cudden proposed the plan, due to the fact he was scare of the violence of the mission. Mike calls him out on this when Donnie insists that they have to find Cudden as opposed to stay back on the front where the active fighting would be happening. On their trek, Donnie and Eddie have a small conversation about the sweethearts they have back home. Donnie shows him the picture of Betty that he kept on him, as Eddie laments not having a girl to go home to. During their trek, the men come across a figure in the woods that upon investigation turns out to be a fallen Allied parachute. Before they can deduct whose parachute it is, a stranger from the Royal British Air Force ambushes them at gunpoint and demanding the men to state their business. Satisfied with their answers, the strangers reveals their identity to be Joan Forbes, a female pilot of the Royal Air Force. Joan explains that she had been an escort pilot heading to Heilbronn for a follow up raid, but had been shot down by a German antiaircraft gun and forced to crash in the middle of the Ardennes. She figured to head south to where the Allied forces would be, and set up her parachute decoy and hid until she found Donnie and his men. The group takes a moment to warm up by the fire while Donnie fills her in on what they were trying to accomplish. Despite the order to go north to find Cudden, Joan advises the men not to go, with the claim that something horrifying would await them and that the men they were looking for were likely already dead. Mike doesn't trust Joan, sure that she's secretly a German spy, but Donnie dismisses his theory. He instead asks Joan a little bit about her home life, and she tells him about her kids and her fiance back home. With nowhere else to go, Joan reluctantly joins the group to head up north once more. Joan is horribly proven right about what she saw. In the middle of a clearing are Sergeant Cudden and his men - horribly mutilated with their faces nailed onto logs and posed like dolls. Drawn in frozen blood around each man is a symbol: three circles set in a triangle, with three dots in the middle of them and three lines connecting them together, along with the phrase "Sie sind alle gerettet." ("They are all saved.") Donnie takes charge, giving out orders to secure the area, signal for help, and look for tracks of whoever (or whatever) did this. Before they can get far into their work, a creature much like a grotesque rat with a child's face appears and attacks. The group collectively bail and retreat as far as they can, only to run into a group of Nazis and knocked out. Appearances * The Night Children Category:Characters Category:The Night Children